Britain's Nemesis electric supercar

Dale Vince, founder of British green power company Ecotricity, decided two years ago that he wanted to create a flashy, fun, fast automobile, that ran on nothing but electricity created by his company's own wind turbines. Vince and his team proceeded to buy and gut a used Lotus Exige, outfitted it with two electric motors, and after 18 months ended up with the Nemesis – a one-of-a-kind 170 mph green machine that reportedly eats V12 Ferraris for breakfast.

Vince’s team includes engineers who have designed cars for companies such as McLaren, Williams and Lotus. His main stated purpose for building the Nemesis was to show naysayers that "wind-powered" cars could not only be practical, but that they could also be more than just golf cart-like toys.

The project hasn't been without some controversy. According to the Daily Mail, part of the project’s almost-£1 million cost came in the form of a £400,000 grant from the UK’s Technology Strategy Board. Given that the car is now Vince's daily commuter, he has been criticized by taxpayers groups for using public funds to score himself a pretty sweet ride.

In any case, it is indeed an impressive electric vehicle. Here's some of the key specs:

Charge time: Under 2 hours from empty to full with optional fast charger, 8-9 hours with 13 A overnight charger

Curb weight: 2,571 lbs (1,166 kg)

The obvious car for comparison to the Nemesis would, of course, be the Tesla Roadster Sport – not only are they both electric sports cars, but they’re also both based around Lotus bodies (the Tesla being based on the Lotus Elise).

So the Nemesis pips the Roadster for top speed and power, but although it's interesting, the comparison is a little pointless anyway because of one critical difference not listed here – you can actually go out and buy a Roadster... and at a fraction of the cost (though you're still looking at around US$100K). At this stage there are no plans afoot to produce any more Nemesises (Nemesi?).

An experienced freelance writer, videographer and television producer, Ben's interest in all forms of innovation is particularly fanatical when it comes to human-powered transportation, film-making gear, environmentally-friendly technologies and anything that's designed to go underwater. He lives in Edmonton, Alberta, where he spends a lot of time going over the handlebars of his mountain bike, hanging out in off-leash parks, and wishing the Pacific Ocean wasn't so far away. All articles by Ben CoxworthFollow @bencoxworth